Bujeon Glocal Vision Center | Lee Eunseok + Atelier KOMA, HEERIM Architects & Planners

Designed by HEERIM Architects & Planners, Lee Eunseok + Atelier KOMA, The planned B.G.V.C. (Bujeon Global Vision Center) on the adjacent site of Oncheon-Cheon (Oncheon Creek) across the Dongrae District in Busan has expressed its willingness to contribute towards the international community in its name. It aims to communicate with Busan and Dongrae District to provide hospitality and peaceful sanctuary for Oncheon-Cheon (Oncheon Creek) and Busan citizens and to embody a modern Christian program which is rich and incorporates the city and nature. The purpose of the architecture is to be a landmark for missionary work, peace, and love.In order to provide a comfortable nature-like rest area in a peaceful urban outdoor space, the entrance square, outdoor stairs and a public garden-view staircase to the rooftop garden are created. After climbing the hill, all citizens of Busan can enjoy a panoramic view of Busan from inside and outside the church. At the top of the stairs, the rooftop garden under the Cross tower opens in all directions becomes the climax of the linear garden.

Courtesy of Lee Eunseok + Atelier KOMA, HEERIM Architects & Planners

This space is a Christian cultural complex open for the local community. We hope that it will not only connect the current generation with future generations, but also be a place of interaction that encompasses Busan and the Pacific Ocean, and shares their love for the church and its neighbors.The open façade, which appears lifted like a huge departing ship, does not look like a common Christian architecture with a spire but reveals a positioning as a dynamic space, open to nature, and a complex building that interacts with the city.

Photography by © Joonhwan Yoon

The pilgrimage staircase on the outside ramp leads to the entrance of each floor and connects the panorama open in all directions to the rooftop garden. A huge funnel-shaped hall that connects the entrance on the main road and the entry in the entrance square, and covers whole the first floor is an urban street connecting the city, OncheonCheon (Oncheon Creek), and Bujeon Church. Also, it is a real place of interaction complete with a children’s library, restaurant, café, bookstore, and office linking neighbors and the church. The B.G.V.C is composed of a worship building and an education building. The large inner side of the first and second floors attracts the flow of the city to the inside and the lobby on the third floor faces the music hall and the wedding hall. There is a large sloping worship space through the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors, but a comfortable fan-shaped lobby facing Oncheon-Cheon (Oncheon Creek) is relatively low in height utilizing the space under the stall but is open wide horizontally and spacious enough for the city.

Photography by © Joonhwan Yoon

The B.G.V.C. is a building constructed by using an exposed concrete structure and finishing materials so it is an example of high-quality construction both at home and abroad. This monumental exposed concrete construction is accomplished with a maximum height of 28m and a circumference of 458m without special finishing. It is a record-breaking steel concrete cantilevered structure with the top part of the building floating in the air. In order to establish the construction quality standard of this concrete, a deposit of a mock-up of the process and a thorough training of workers was carried out. In addition, all sorts of problems were addressed in advance and an experimental process took into consideration various other conditions. As a result, the gracefulness of the concrete and the security of structural quality has been achieved.

Photography by © Joonhwan Yoon

Project Info:
Architects: HEERIM Architects & Planners, Lee Eunseok + Atelier KOMA
Location: Jungang-daero, Dongnae-gu, Busan, South Korea
Architect in Charge: Lee Eunseok
Area: 42404.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Joonhwan Yoon, Wansoon Park
Project Name: Bujeon Glocal Vision Center